John Muir and the Edenic Narrative: Towards an Understanding of Class and Racial Bias in the Writing of a Preeminent Environmentalist
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University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1998 John Muir and the Edenic narrative: Towards an understanding of class and racial bias in the writing of a preeminent environmentalist Russell Owen The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Owen, Russell, "John Muir and the Edenic narrative: Towards an understanding of class and racial bias in the writing of a preeminent environmentalist" (1998). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 6625. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/6625 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Maureen and Mike MANSFIELD LIBRARY The University ofIVIONTANA Pennission is granted by the author to reproduce tliis material in its entirety, provided that this material is used for scholarly purposes and is properly cited in published works and reports. ** Please check "Yes" or "No" and provide signature Yes, I gi'ant permission No, I do not giant pennission Author's Signature Date z9 / 9 Any copying for commercial purposes or financial gain may be undertaken only with the author's explicit consent. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. JOHN MUIR AND THE BDENIC NARRATIVE* TOWARDS AN UNDERSTANDING OF CLASS AND RACIAL BIAS IN THE WRITING OF A PREEMINENT ENVIRONMENTALIST by Russell Owen B.A. The University of Montana, 1993 presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts The University of Montana 1998 Approved by* Chairperson Dean, Graduate School Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number; EP37426 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI* Oiwsrtation Publishing UMI EP37426 Published by ProOuest LLC (2013). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProOuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code uest ProOuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 4 8 106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Owen. Russell D.. M.A., May 1998 History John Muir and the Edenic Narrative: Towards an Under standing of Class and Racial Bias in the Writing of a Preeminent Environmentalist Directors Dan Flores John Muir's writings contain biased portrayals of Native Americans and working class people. The passages where these portrayals occur have been largely ignored by John Muir's major biographers. The passages have been considered inconsistent with Muir's mature thought and, thus, not worthy of attention. When examined thoroughly, however, these passages may be understood as being consonant with John Muir's basic understanding of human history. John Muir's conception of human history and the progress of civilization were rooted in his upbringing on Wisconsin farms and in his education at the University of Wisconsin. Both experiences led Muir to value technology and science as essential means to human progress. The preservationist especially praised the scientific disciplines. He believed humans would come to a deeper understanding of God through science. The emphasis in John Muir's philosophy on the importance of technology and science led to a biased view of workers. Muir came to identify with and champion the efforts of industrial and intellectual elites. At the same time, he denigrated laborers and declined to admit their role in Western Civilization's advance. As his wilderness philosophy evolved, it increasingly appealed to an audience urban and wealthy in composition. John Muir's advocacy of scientific and technological advance also influenced his view of Native Americans and their respective cultures. As individuals. Native Americans were compared to the "degraded working classes.” John Muir measured Native American cultures in terms of Western Civilization's ideals of human progress. Consequently, he always viewed Native American cultures as occupying a position inferior to those cultures evolving out of Western European traditions. The failure of biographers to consider fully John Muir's biases has resulted in a simplified view of his life and his legacy. John Muir and the preservation movement have been enshrined. A more accurate view of John Muir and his legacy will open the way for a deeper understanding of the complexities at work in today's environmental conflicts. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ................................... 1 2. THE EDENIC NARRATIVE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF JOHN MUIR'S WORLDVIEW ........................... 11 3. PROGRESS. THE GARDEN, AND THEWORKING CLASS ... 39 4. THE SAVAGE AND THE CIVILIZED: JOHN MUIR'S PERCEPTIONS OF NATIVE AMERICANS ................ 69 5. CONCLUSIONS ................................ 101 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................ 112 ill Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION In 1869. John Muir lost himself amongst the glorious peaks, meadows, valleys, and lake basins of California's Sierras for an entire summer. A year before, he had made a brief visit to the Yosemlte Valley and the nearby Mariposa Grove of grand Sequoias. During the trip, the area captured Muir's Imagination and, on his return In 1869. an Intox icated energy animated his explorations. He wandered through sculpted amphitheaters, climbed hump-backed peaks, strolled across fields dotted with pastel-colored wlldflowers, and felt water droplets sting his face as he stood under the shattering of a waterfall.^ However. John Muir was not alone In the Sierra. His experiences during the summer of 1869. recorded In the autobiographical work. Mv First Summer In the Sierra, also tell the story of a season spent tending a large flock of sheep. Muir had gained employment from a sheepman named Pat Delaney. Along with a shepherd--a hot-headed youth called Bllly--Mulr followed the flock Into the mountain pastures of the Sierra. Delaney did not hire Muir to work directly In the job of herding, but Instead used him as a sort of confidant, overseeing Billy's work. The position delighted Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 Muir because it allowed him to spend long days away from the sheep, enjoying the high country.^ Perhaps nothing fascinated John Muir as much as the mountains themselves. Their cut faces, domed backs, and moraines posed a riddle. Over the next several years, his geological publications would help establish the signifi cance of glaciation on the Yosemite landscape. His work discredited the theories of a contemporary geologist, Josiah Dwight Whitney, who explained the local geology in terms of subsidence. In contrast to Muir's glacial theories, Whitney believed the Yosemite once rested on hollow space--in a series of dramatic catastrophes the valley fell like a collapsing cake.^ As with most trips, Muir's summer of shepherding had its good points and its bad. If the landscape, plants, and animals of the Sierra never failed to enchant him, the same could not be said for his travelling companions. The young shepherd, Billy, particularly irritated Muir. Among other shortcomings, Billy exhibited no appreciation for his scenic surroundings, was a poor conversationalist, indulged in chewing copious amounts of tobacco, and possessed no small share of impudence. More than anything, though, Muir found Billy disgustingly dirty* Following the sheep he carries a heavy six-shooter swung from his belt on one side and his luncheon on the other. The ancient cloth in which the meat, fresh from the frying pan, is tied serves as a fil ter through which the fat and gravy Juices drip Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. down on his right hip and leg in clustering stalac tites. These precious overalls are never taken off, and nobody knows how old they are, though one may guess by their thickness and concen tric structure. Instead of wearing thin they wear thick, and in their stratification have no small geological significance.' Muir was equally offended by the lack of hygiene exhibited by a Digger Indian who helped drive the sheep during the first days of summer, and by other Indians he encountered in the mountains. At a high pass, late in the month of August, Muir met a group of Indians on their way to the Yosemite Valley to gather acorns. As with Billy's pants, Muir relied on